One of the things that Michael was passionate about was sports - specifically the Huskers. We would occasionally travel to Lincoln to watch Husker football at Russell's grandma's house with Michael. During halftime, the boys would go out back and throw the football around. I went to my very first Red & White game with Russell and Michael. I will never be able to think of the Huskers without being reminded of Michael.
Another passion of Michael's was music. Looking at Michael, you would likely not assume that he was a talented musician. You see, Michael was born with some major challenges. Including the limited use of his right hand/arm and some hearing loss. These are not qualities that you would look for in a talent musician. And yet, he had an amazing ability for music. I was always in awe of Michael's talent to play by ear. We asked Michael to play the piano at our wedding. I gave him a CD of the songs that I wanted played and that was it. He did an amazing job. Michael's skills only progressed to the point where he was composing his own songs and made a CD.
Several years ago, Michael excitedly told us about the part-time that he had recently started at 10/11 news - which is a station local to Lincoln. He was working in the sports department (surprise, surprise - right??). This part-time gig eventually turned into full-time. You could tell the dedication that Michael had to the station and the joy that it brought to him. We knew the love that Michael had for 10/11, but it wasn't until after he passed away that we realized that the feeling was mutual.
A few months ago, Michael was forced to go to the hospital by one of his co-workers. He was diagnosed with what doctors thought was a bad case of pneumonia, had a surgery to drain fluid from his lungs and was discharged. At this point, we were able to visit Michael at his house. A short time after that, Michael was back in the hospital again having fluid drained from his lungs. Things pretty much went downhill and ultimately they opted to do an exploratory surgery to see what was going on. They found the culprit - Michael had lymphoma. However, he just wasn't able to recover from all of the procedures. So, as we were closing out celebrating Ephraim's 1st birthday and gearing up to celebrate Russell's birthday, we got urgent news that Michael's time on this Earth was coming to an end. We raced up to Lincoln to find comfort in family.
It's such a juxtaposition to be celebrating the anniversaries of the day two very special guys being given life as we begin to mourn the loss of another very special guy's life. But, I can tell you that all of a sudden all of the petty stuff and life's little annoyances don't seem to matter anymore. I am sad for what has been lost, but I am grateful for the time, love and laughs that we had.
Rest in Peace, Michael. You will be missed.
